Drip pan for water coolers



Jan. 8, 1935; R. c. WOLFE DRIP PAN FOR WATER COOLERS Filed April 19,1932 Fig.3

Fig. 5 .Riahatd.Q.WQ[fe Mr 0 H A th V m ifs notohedflnd;provideclfwithfstops so u po tin r ckets w:r. t n a;g --An0the17; objeet y of; this invention 151130 provide a; drip-pan which must be liftedslightly above its supporting brackets in order :to remove -it;from thecoolenfrar'ne. t

Other wobjects and advantages of this invention will beanparent from thefollowing-I detailed de-' efilitidrihfii prefffed'e'rnbodirhent of theinveni 'on,f "wh"en feed. in connection 'vrith the acoomthebody ofth f it Figureil.

tie elevat on on I ineI II I I of 3 is a lside el evet ion on of Hdetail of j a f subporting bracket on n lers erfiffya m ""Flg i 6"isafberspetive View of i'the pan in its normal position on its suppqrtingbrackets and shows a. broken-away portion of the water cooler peciallyin the case of the cooler whichutilizes tainer.

guard or shield which surrounds the water con- Referring to Figure 1,the numeral "10 represents a drip pan constructed according to thisinvention. The three legs or supports for the conventional water coolerare represented by numerals 11, 12 and 13 respectively, while thebrackets attached to these legs and on which the pan normally rests arerepresented by 14.

In its normal position, when it issupported by brackets 14, and as shownin Figure 6, the catch basin 15 of pan 10 lies midway between legs 11and 13, so that these brackets are beneath the outwardly extendingflange 16 of thepan 10.

[This position is represented. in Figure 1 by the line A, 7 A smallprojection 1'7 (Figure 3) may be placed on the lower edge of the flange16 to insure that the catch basin is registered in its proper relationwith the faucet of the cooler (not shown). Under these conditions thepan 10 and catch basin 15 may be rotated, approximately 20 to the leftor in a clockwise direction from line CA, on which the faucet lies, inorder that a receptacle which is too high to be received between thefaucet of the cooler (not shown), and the top of the'catch basin, may befilled. Pan 10 is prevented from turningrany farther in this directionby'the edge of catch basin l5 striking against'legj 13 (Figure 1). Panand catch basin may also be rotated approximately to the right or in acounter-clockwise direction from line 0A whereupon it will be arrestedby the downward. projections or lugs 18, on flange 16,

illustrated in Figures 2,3 and 4, .for a purpose which will-be explainedbelow.

The outwardly extending flange 16 of :pan 10 is provided with threenotches 19, as indicated in Figure 1, which are spaced at the sameintervals as legs 11, 12 and 13 of the cooler support. These aresorelated to the diameter ofthe flange of the drip pan and to thebrackets 14, on the frame of the cooler support that the panwill be freeto drop vertically downward when notches 19 coincide or register withthese'brackets as illustrated'in Figure 1. It is to prevent theaccidental droppingof pan 10 that the downward projections 18 are fittedto the rim 16 of the pan.

When itis intended, however, that they pan shall be removed, the'catchbasin 15 may be rotated approximately 20 to the right or in a counterclockwise direction and then lifted so'that proj'ections 18 will passover brackets 14. It may then be rotated in the same direction(counterclockwise) until notches 19 coincide orreg'ister with thesebrackets, allowing the' pan to be dropped vertically downwardand'removed from between the legs 11, 12 and 13 of thecooler frame,without danger of tipping. Downwardly extend-,-

ing lugs 20' may be added on the opposite sides of notches 19 from lugs18to insure accurate. alignment of'these notcheswith-thelbracketsbypreventing over-travel of the pan 110. The panlllobviously cannot be removed from thefframe by lifting it upwardlybecause of the presence ofths water cooler structure, illustrated inpart inFigure 6 by shield 25.

Referring now to Figure 5, the brackets 14 may be constructed as theredetailed. The .bracket itself may be made from a strip of metal'bent toprovide a horizontal ledge 21 which is adapted to receive the horizontalflange 16 of thepan'lO. The vertical upward extension .22 may beproportioned to prevent transverse sliding of the flange 16 of the pan10 when it is in its normal position. The bracket member 14 maybesecured to the leg 13 by means of machine screws 23 and nuts 24 whichpass through drilled holes in both the leg- 13 and the bracket member.

It will. be seen from this description that a drip pan, constructedaccording to this invention, will have advantages over those previouslyused in stability during normal operation and in ease of removal andreplacement when such is desired. It is alsoespecially suited for usewith the porous sleeve cooler construction outlined above, as it isadapted to be lowered vertically when being removed, and raisedvertically when being installed, thereby leaving the'lower end of thesleeve undisturbed.

Although a specific construction embodying this invention has beendescribed and illustrated, itis to be understood that the invention isnot limited to'thatspecific device, and all such modifications andchanges as come within the scope of'the appended claims are embracedthereby.

I claim: V 4

1.. In'combination with a water cooler having supporting legs, bracketson said legs, a drip pan adapted to fit between said brackets andsupported by an annularly extending rim resting on said brackets, saiddrip pan being capable of limited rotation between saidbrackets, notchesin said rim adapted to register with said brackets upon rotation of saiddrip pan and stop members on said rim extending downwardadjacent saidnotches. i

2. In combination, a watericooler frame, a drip pan within said frame, aflanged rim extending outwardly from said drip pan, spaced notches insaid rim, spaced supports on said frame to engage said rim andpermitremoval of said pan whensaid pan'is rotated to register said notcheswith said supports. j

3'. In combination, a water cooler frame, spaced brackets in said frame,and a drip pan provided with a flange and capable of limited rotation insaid frame, spaced notches in said. flange, said flange provided with astop adjacent one of said notches to limit the rotationof said pan.

4. In combination, a water cooler frame provided with a shield, spacedsupports in said frame below said shield, and a drip pan provided withmeans to engage said supports upon partial rotation of'said panandwithout tipping the latter from'a' horizontal position, said shieldacting to prevent a 'vertically upward removal of said drip panfrom saidframe; 4

'5. In combination, 'a watercocler frame provided with a shield,spaced'supports in said frame below .said shield, a drip pan providedwith means to engage said supports upon partial rotation of said pan.and without tipping the latter from a horizontalposition, and stop'means to limit the rotation of said pan, said shield acting to prevent avertically upward removal of said drip pan from said frame.

